Lighting interior scenes with a flashlight

S

shadow_dog_dx

Active member
Hi, I am going to be shooting a short film in a few months with a dvx 100a, it is going to be a horror film and I would like to light the interior shots using a torch, this is a creative choice and not due to budget restraints.

Has anyone had any experience doing this or just have any useful tips/advice?

I did a small test the other day, the problem I had was that the brightness was too centered, It was overexposed in the middle (directly where the light is pointing) and too dark on the outisde.

thanks


EDIT: when I say torch, I am reffering to a flashlight
 
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I would just suggest trying to find some way to bounce the natural torch light back and around more. I mean if it's bright enough to overexpose, then there's enough light there to spread around. Even if you just use some kind of white board or one of those three-way-foldy-get-a-facial-sun-tan-in-the-1980's things and keep it just out of camera view the whole time. But that's my very run'n'gun makeshift suggestion. You can probably get a thousand more tech specific answers within 24 hours.
 
I would recommend filling the rooms ambient level up to a readable stop with a china ball or kino, something soft and with a decent throw. This light is just to expose detail in the room, then I would suggest using a small fresnel or similar tungsten on a flickermaster, with a grip holding it in relation to the torch, to light the actors. This light will be much more flattering to the actor, but still maintain a nice sharp contrast, similar to how fire light would.

The reason I would advise against trying to light solely with a torch, is because first the color temperature I'm sure is below the 1000K mark, so it would read VERY red on your actor, unless thats what you want, and also with the DVX you are going to get a very dark image, even with a torch right next to his face, it will just look like a floating head. Lighting this to look "unlit" is difficult, but in the end is worth it for the way it will look in your film.
 
Ah ok in that situation, keep the ambient room light, and I would add a little atmosphere like haze, to catch the beam from the torch, and like Armisiano said, use a foamcore or reflector to bounce back a little of his light back onto his face, or have a grip hold a color corrected kino (matching the temp of the torch) and move it with the actors during the shot, assuming this is a walking shot of course...
 
Oh see, I was thinking torch as in dude with fire at end of stick in hand, ala Indi in the catacombs via Last Crusade. Cancel my last post, do the fun techie stuff like Andy says.
 
thanks guys, I really appreciate the help. And yes I did mean flashlight, in aus we use the word torch, sorry I should have been more specific with that :)

Andrew Brinkhaus said:
Ah ok in that situation, keep the ambient room light, and I would add a little atmosphere like haze, to catch the beam from the torch, and like Armisiano said, use a foamcore or reflector to bounce back a little of his light back onto his face, or have a grip hold a color corrected kino (matching the temp of the torch) and move it with the actors during the shot, assuming this is a walking shot of course...
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2 question here,

what is a good way to add atmosphere effects?

I have heard that a good method is to use talcum powder but is there any other good methods, also, is continuity a big problem with a haze effect?

And also, what is a kino?

sorry if they are dumb questions :(
 
"what is a good way to add atmosphere effects?"

A controlled fog machine works great for atmosphere in my minor bits of experience. With anything like that you'll want to do a couple test runs first to figure out how much you want/what works, how to regulate it, etc. Also it'll help spread the light a bit and mask any mildly unnatural extra wattage used.
 
If you are using a real flashlight (torch), many have a considerable hot-spot in the center of the beam. You could try putting a piece of diffusion behind the lens to scatter it a bit.

Also please avoid using talcum powder for atmospheric effects. Talc is related to asbestos and not so nice to inhale. I've only seen it used for giving a little puff to accentuate impact on a low budjet kung-foo film.

Fog machines have gotten easier to find now that disc-jockeys are buying them, and the water-based fog juice is fairly benign (though you'll get tired of the scent).

For really subtle haze in a small location, some incense in a bee smoker used to be used, but it's difficult to keep consistent shot-to-shot.
 
armisiano said:
"what is a good way to add atmosphere effects?"

A controlled fog machine works great for atmosphere in my minor bits of experience. With anything like that you'll want to do a couple test runs first to figure out how much you want/what works, how to regulate it, etc. Also it'll help spread the light a bit and mask any mildly unnatural extra wattage used.
Click to expand...

thanks, will look into a controlled fog machine, sounds like a good idea.

Glen Gustafson said:
If you are using a real flashlight (torch), many have a considerable hot-spot in the center of the beam. You could try putting a piece of diffusion behind the lens to scatter it a bit.

Also please avoid using talcum powder for atmospheric effects. Talc is related to asbestos and not so nice to inhale. I've only seen it used for giving a little puff to accentuate impact on a low budjet kung-foo film.

Fog machines have gotten easier to find now that disc-jockeys are buying them, and the water-based fog juice is fairly benign (though you'll get tired of the scent).

For really subtle haze in a small location, some incense in a bee smoker used to be used, but it's difficult to keep consistent shot-to-shot.
Click to expand...

thanks for the heads up about talcum powder,
I will definately start researching about using a diffusion for a flashlight,
do you have any recommendations of what type of diffuser paper or other thing that I can use for it?
The problem is that I will need a pretty powerful flashlight, seeing as I don't want to have to use gain, this will cause heat, hopefully the diffuser paper will not catch fire or anything.
 
Electric torch :)

American Cinematographer had an EXCELLENT article on "The Descent" in their September 2006 issue. Try to find it at a library or somewhere... it covers a lot of great ideas, including the best flashlight to use, other light source ideas, the natural ways to bounce light, fill in atmosphere, etc.

From what I can remember, the gaffer built in a lot of bounce boards off the edges of the set, and there was usually someone holding one just out of frame. They also used flares and a few other light sources. Changing sources can help you shift through time and motivate different colored light.

If you have a smoke machine, you'll want a grip dedicated to just the machine. Also, they tend to hiss while they're working, even if you don't hit the button, so you can ruin sound that way. Piping the smoke in through tubes is an option on some sets. Bring a small and a large fan, as well. The small one can turn your fogger into more of a hazer, and the large one can be used to control airflow and clear the air if you have problems.

I have used flashlights with a zenon lamp in shots and have been happy with them. They have a pretty high output and color temp with decent CRI.

Talc is not in all baby powder anymore. Lots of it is cornstarch now. Not that you want to breathe that in, either, but at least it's probably not carcinogenic.

I did a short shoot in a small area where I just told the grip and gaffer to smoke and got a nice haze effect, like a smokey bar.

The DVX is the perfect camera to use for this project!
 
Yeah, good advice. Foggers can sputter at random inopportune moments.

Remember, he's in Oz, and they make pretty much all their own products and their own FDA when it comes to toothpaste and such. You can still buy some pretty gnarly cold medication over the counter, from what I remember (but I was in NZ). Better safe than sorry.

Anyhow, you're better off with a water-based fog than something like dust. One of my horror stories was shooting second unit in an old gold mine, and the director discovered that the dust that got stirred up by the crew made nice shafts of light.

So before each take the whole gang would shuffle in the powdery dirt from one end of tunnel and back, and we worked in the dust cloud. By the end of the day, the nice old Arriflex made a nasty crunching sound when you turned the inching knob. It was an expensive visit to Birns and Sawyer for it after that. That whole production was like that... goofballs.

I imagine a scrap of pretty much any polyester diffusion made to hang in front of a light would work in a torch. Just try to avoid anything so heavy it will rob you of too much light. Or you could even grind some diffusion into the lens of the torch.

In the days of slow emulsion it was common to rig a flashlight with an AC lamp, but then your talent has to cope with hiding a wire.

BTY, Marmite makes a pretty good smear of orc blood on a blade in a pinch. I ate the vegimite...
 
You might get enough diffusion on a consumer flashlight with just a few layers of translucent satin tape, like you'd use to wrap christmas gifts.
 
I used a Streamlight Stinger as a follow spot for a horror film. We had 3 or 4 redheads set up bouncing off the ceiling to light a fairly large area, and the shot was a vampire crossing the set. We shot the Stinger through a piece of CTB gel on a fairly tight spot. The effect worked well for that particular film.
 
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